THE SCOTTISH parliament recently celebrated its
first year of existence. An opinion poll commissioned
to coincide with this anniversary found almost 70%
of people in Scotland calling for increased powers
for the Edinburgh legislature.

At the same time, a number of recent polls have seen
the Scottish National Party (SNP) overtake Labour
in voting intentions for the next Scottish elections.
Clearly the hopes of New Labour that devolution would
settle once and for all the constitutional question
in Scotland are proving to be well wide of the mark.

While we supported the setting up of a devolved parliament
in Scotland the national question could not be resolved
by such a measure. Inevitably, as the interests of
the working class began to come into collision with
the limited clout of the parliament - which in reality
relies on a block grant from Westminster - many workers
would begin to demand extra powers and resources
for the parliament. The main reason for the growth
of support for the SNP is the widespread anti-Labour
mood rather than a significant increase in support
for independence at the moment.

The SNP themselves are split between the 'gradualists',
who see the fight for independence as a process of
accumulation of more and more powers for the parliament,
and the 'fundamentalists', who oppose any watering
down of the demand for independence. A compromise
position was agreed at a recent conference, that
an SNP administration in Edinburgh would negotiate
a referendum on independence after four years.

The craven performance of the New Labour/Lib-Dem
executive in Edinburgh has only increased the general
feeling of disappointment at the lack of any real
change. The crisis in the NHS is unresolved, as are
the problems of housing and public services in general.
The executive are backing the wholesale stock transfer
of council housing in Glasgow, which the Labour-led
council in the city are advocating as a solution to
the crumbling state of housing provision.

The parliament has been incapable of preventing
a whole series of hospital and ward closures that
are currently being driven through by cash-hungry
NHS Trust managers and health boards. Many areas
of Scotland have seen massive hikes in local taxation
through council tax and water charges increases.
Dundee, Glasgow and West Dumbarton have average
council tax bills at over £1,000 a year. Dundee alone
has had imposed a 46% increase in water bills by the
local water quango that Labour once proposed to abolish
in a 'bonfire of the quangos'.

At the same time, the abolition of up-front tuition
fees and the return of a limited student grant, as
well as the tremendous victory over warrant sales,
have helped increase the appetite for more powers
over the economy, tax, social security and the minimum
wage. It has also, of course, raised the need for fighting
socialist political representation which has been
epitomised by the role of Tommy Sheridan and the Scottish
Socialist Party.

Tommy's bill for the abolition of warrant sales and
poindings (valuations of people's possessions,
in their homes, prior to sale) is currently the first
Private Member's Bill to be considered by the parliament.
The decision to back this bill and take it to a second
reading by 79 votes to 15, forcing the executive into
a humiliating climbdown, was seen as being of enormous
political significance.

The fact that Tommy, who served a four-month prison
sentence in 1992 for opposing warrant sales, was
the main sponsor of the bill, made this victory all
the more significant. It was also the spectre of the
mass anti-poll tax struggle that played a role in
this breakthrough. One of Scotland's leading political
journalists, Ian McWhirtar, wrote: "Thursday
was a transforming event, and its implications will
be pored over for many months. It was above all a triumph
for Sheridan and his Scottish Socialist Party. The
Scottish executive has been forced to abandon its
policy and adopt his".

Without any doubt, Tommy Sheridan and the SSP have
made a big impact and the warrant sales bill has helped
to increase this enormously. 'If that is what one
socialist MSP can do what could more achieve?' Such
regularly expressed comments reflect a widespread
mood, with the SSP at around 5% in opinion polls. The
SSP is very likely to increase its representation
in the parliament at the next elections as disillusionment
with the ruling Scottish executive and the Westminster
government bite further.

This mood of dissatisfaction is despite the ongoing
economic growth, with unemployment falling in most
areas. In common with all the other capitalist economies,
poverty and inequality have actually increased,
despite the continued upswing. Nevertheless, manufacturing
industry has taken a hammering in Scotland. Factory
closures including textiles, electronics and the
threat over shipbuilding on the Clyde, are a constant
reminder of the uneven and weak character of the recovery.
The call centres and the service industries in general
have seen a growth in employment but poverty pay is
endemic in these sectors. All of these contradictions
are resulting in a ready-made audience for socialist
ideas. The recent occupation of a factory in Clydebank
by workers fighting job losses is a foretaste of an
anger and preparedness to take action that can develop
further in the months ahead.

The role of the trade union leaders in Scotland, as
in the rest of Britain, is still a barrier to workers
taking action. There have, however, been limited
struggles in education, the post office, oil fabrication
and local government over the last few months. The
ending of the US bubble economy and a downturn in the
rest of Britain and Europe would leave Scotland in
a very vulnerable position due to its reliance on
exports and inward investment.

The new situation which is developing can lead to
a significant growth in socialist ideas in Scotland.
While the SSP is well placed to take advantage of this,
the role of Marxism within this broad socialist party
will be decisive if the SSP is to capitalise on the
potential.